Wednesday, January 28, 2015

I had to delete if
from all my devices. Candy Crush is an addicting game, and besides, I’m stuck
on Level 161. I refuse to buy any boosts (although I have done it in the past).
If I was going to get any work done, it had to go. Okay, I retrieved it from
the cloud over the holidays. Don’t get me started on Trivia Crack. It has to
go, too.

This article isn’t
about the evils of distractions in the writing life, although computer games
probably rank right up there on the list of procrastinations. Actually I played
Candy Crush so much over the frozen West Texas New Year that I woke up thinking
about those little colored balls. My half asleep, half awake state of mind
formed an idea, as it often does in the early morning.

Combine three
alike and you crush. Crush all required combinations and you advance to the
next level. Somewhere in my mind the idea that writing, editing, and submitting
are a combination that crushes publication obstacles. We can’t submit something
that hasn’t been written, right? Consistent, daily stretching of the writing
muscle, combined with editing, self or otherwise, and then submitting will
eventually advance us to the next level. Thinking about it won’t. Learning from
that process (rejections, rewrites) reminds me of how in the more “mature”
levels of Candy Crush, I always fail on the first few tries of a new level.
Trying again and again usually garners advancement.

Ah, how I love
those special characters. Combine four or five of the same color and you get a
super boost that accomplishes the ultimate Candy Crush experience. Isn’t it
true that if we add prayer, faith, and trust to our hard work and consistency
then we have something really special? A no fail combination, because what we
put into the Lord’s hands will accomplish His goals for us, even if we don’t
see it.

I realize as I
watch the ice slip off the tree out my kitchen window, that 2014 was a bit
frozen for me in my writing career. My work after that initial debut novel has
not found its place in publication yet. It encourages me to know that putting
the whole thing in the hands of my Father for 2015 means that none of it is
wasted. I will just keep combining prayer, faith, and trust, with consistent
writing, editing and submitting. I know the obstacles will fall.

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